Join Randy Elliott and Friends at Old Station Steakhouse

If you like your steaks spicy and your music funky, listen to Randy Elliott and Friends rock out Sunday evenings at the Old Station Steakhouse in downtown Framingham.

Chris Bergeron

If you like your steaks spicy and your music funky, listen to Randy Elliott and Friends rock out Sunday evenings at the Old Station Steakhouse in downtown Framingham.

A long-time fixture in the area music scene, Elliott will be performing his signature mix of classic rock seasoned with some Portuguese favorites Sundays at 8 p.m. at the newest hot spot in the Big 'Ham at 417 Waverley St., the site of the former Ebeneezer's restaurant.

Now owned by Jean Machado, the Old Station Steakhouse specializes in "churrascaria," a Brazilian style barbecue combining steak, chicken, sausage and short ribs for $10 a plate. A salad bar serves fried bananas and cold items. There is always soccer on the big screen television.

Elliott's band, Randy Elliott and Friends, performs on the second floor. There is no cover charge.

While the cuisine and restaurant have a definite Brazilian flavor, Elliott described his band as playing "American music on a Sunday night for an American audience." He expects to play from 8 p.m. to midnight.

Raised in Sudbury and now living in Southborough, Elliott sings lead vocals and plays guitar. Joining him onstage will be veteran sax player Dick Lourie, who plays his own brand of Delta blues, drummer David Hurst of Concord and bass player Jose Vega of Marlborough.

"We play a combination of what I call classic rock and oldies, mixed in with some blues," said Elliott. "Since I speak Portuguese and some Spanish, maybe 10 percent of our numbers will be in those languages. We play 'La Bamba' and some Santana."

He said he learned to speak Portuguese while living in Brazil for several years where he taught English. His wife, Cida, is from Brazil and they own a second home there.

Elliott and his band mates play a mixed bag including Beatles, Eric Clapton, Elvis Presley, Bruce Springsteen, the Righteous Brothers, early U2 and "anything that rocks," he said.

Elliott said a typical show includes covers of "You've Lost that Loving Feeling," "Mustang Sally," "Stand by Me," "With or Without You" and something by Elvis.

A 1979 graduate of Lincoln-Sudbury High School, he described himself as a mostly self-taught musician who learned from playing. "Learning music is an ongoing thing," he said.

Elliott described his baritone voice as "like Bono" in U2 and, said of his band, "We really get into it."

Now 48, Elliott has been singing and playing since he was a teenager.

Looking back, he recalled playing in his brother Mark's high school garage band, Formula One, as a kid in Sudbury.

Over the years, Elliott has played in Texas and Tennessee and most recently in Brazil. Since returning, he's played with his band at the Beef Grill in Marlborough and Celebrate Framingham Festival last year.

"Music has always been an important part of my life," he said.

The band will be selling a DVD of a performance they filmed on Framingham Community Access Television.

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